Ministry Announces Final Album and Farewell Tour

Ministry's final album, Hate to Go (Take Out or Delivery), arrives as their definitive swan song. Founder Al Jourgensen, 68, confirms this tenth studio album marks the end of the band after a supporting tour next year. The industrial metal act, founded in 1981, will be over after that trek. Jourgensen's political outlook was shaped by his childhood as a bullied Cuban immigrant.

AI and controversy

Jourgensen's complex relationship with artificial intelligence features prominently on the new album. He voiced concerns about AI developing sentience on the track 'Singularity,' yet freely used the technology to source vocal samples from former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. He describes a terrifying dark-web AI experience and refers to the AI companies he worked with as his 'AI girlfriends,' having broken up with three of them. Jourgensen compares the threat to Skynet from The Terminator and positions himself as a modern Chicken Little or Paul Revere on the issue.

Reunion and legacy

For its final statement, Ministry reunited with original member Paul Barker. Barker, a key figure from 1986 to 2003, makes a guest return, mending an acrimonious falling-out with Jourgensen in 2003. Their relationship has evolved from courtroom battles to sharing a pub. The reunion was a conscious effort, with Barker appearing on the very last song of the album. This follows the band's recent Squirrely Years tour, which revisited their early synthpop album With Sympathy and was described by Jourgensen as fun and free of rock ego drama.

Touring send-off

The farewell tour is a global, career-spanning event. Ministry will play 20 to 25 songs each night, featuring material from every one of their 17 albums. The itinerary includes Australian dates at the Good Things Festival, a European run beginning April 2 with support from Die Krupps, and a confirmed appearance at the Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival in Columbus, Ohio on May 16. North American headline dates have yet to be announced. Jourgensen is amenable to guest appearances from famous admirers, but insists any collaboration must be rehearsed and sound good, not only a spotlight grab.

Parting words

Jourgensen frames the end as a choreographed exit from an industry he views as exhausted. He previously thought 2024's Hopiumforthemasses would be the finale, but after the Squirrely Years project, he felt they had one more album left. Now, the plan is firm. Al Jourgensen said: "It is so, final album, final tour. In 14 months from now I will be just a simple goat herder." He plans to retire as a fainting-goat farmer, reflecting on a life he describes as long, hard, fast, and fascinating. Having lived many never expected him to reach 68, he credits his health to quitting hard drugs 22 years ago and a Mediterranean diet with daily red wine. His parting sentiment is succinct. Al Jourgensen said: "I'm f***in done."